1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a hands-free bike chain cleaning tool to scrub and clean a bike chain being driven through the cleaning tool in response to the bike pedals being rotated forwards or backwards at a high speed. A displacement of the cleaning tool relative to the rear derailleur of the bike is avoided to enable the bike chain to be cleaned with the biker's hands remaining free and not being required to hold the cleaning tool in place.
2. Background Art
Tools are known by which to surround and clean the chain of a bicycle that is driven through the tool in response to a rotation of the bike pedals. However, when a conventional bike cleaning tool is used to clean the bike chain, the pedals are limited to a slow speed rotation in the backwards direction. Otherwise, the chain surrounded by the cleaning tool has been known to twist and become unstable. Moreover, when the pedals are rotated in the forwards direction the cleaning tool is typically displaced with the chain and moved towards the rear derailleur of the bike at which to strike and possibly damage the gear teeth. In this same regard, if the bike chain is to be cleaned while the pedals are rotated in a forwards direction, the bike is usually mounted on a stand in order to lift the wheels off the ground. Whether the pedals are rotated forwards or backwards, the biker is required to use one or both of his hands to hold the cleaning tool in place so that it will not move with the chain towards the front or the rear of the bike. To this end, some bike cleaners are known to have handles extending therefrom to be held in a hand of the biker.
In many cases, the conventional chain cleaning tool includes a top and a bottom that are detachably connected together around the bike chain by means of latches or buckles. Consequently, both of the biker's hands are often required to assemble and disassemble the cleaning tool on and off the chain. What is more, in cases where the cleaning tool is filled with a cleaning solution, the cleaning solution has been known to spill out during the attachment of the cleaning tool around the chain.
Therefore, what would be desirable is an improved bike chain cleaning tool which can be quickly and easily attached around the chain to be cleaned such that the cleaning tool will be held in place to enable a hands-free cleaning operation. It would also be desirable for the improved bike chain cleaning device to be able to quickly clean the chain while rotating the bike pedals at high speed in both the forwards and backwards directions and without having to mount the bike on a stand or requiring that the biker hold the cleaning tool in his hands.